Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Facts

The topics of hearing loss and hearing aids are already confusing enough for many individuals. Adding to the confusion is a great deal of misinformation about hearing loss and hearing aids. To help you to understand it all, here are a few facts about hearing loss and hearing aids.

It isn’t just older individuals who are hearing impaired. According to the Better Hearing Institute, the majority (65%) of people with hearing loss are younger than age 65. An estimated 1 in 14 Generation X´ers has hearing loss, and at least 1.4 million children have hearing problems.

Only about 10% of hearing losses can be helped by surgery or other medical treatment.

Some things that can cause hearing loss are preventable. Exposure to excessive amounts of noise is one of those things. 30 million Americans are exposed to dangerous noise levels every day.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always take years and years of exposure to loud noise to cause a hearing loss. A shotgun blast or an explosion depending on your proximity to the sound could permanently damage your hearing after a single exposure.

Only 16% of physicians routinely screen for hearing loss. Your family physician may not realize you have a problem hearing.

Hearing loss has been linked to a variety of medical, social and cognitive ills. A new study led by a Johns Hopkins researcher Frank Lin suggests that hearing loss may also be a risk factor for another huge public health problem: falls. The study linked hearing loss to a three-fold risk of falling.

Evidence is mounting that hearing loss in older patients is not just a relatively benign condition that, at its worst, leads to frustrated family members who can’t make themselves heard. Research by at least two independent groups has shown a strong association between hearing loss and cognitive decline.

You might have a hearing loss and not even know it. The fact is you may think that your ability to hear falls within normal limits and it might. But your hearing can diminish gradually, without you noticing. So if your friends and family frequently complain that they have to repeat everything they say or if you find yourself continually saying ‘excuse me,’ or you find it hard to distinguish one voice in a crowded room, it ‘s time to get your hearing checked.

One hearing aid will not resolve your hearing problem if you have an aidable hearing loss in both ears. The human body doesn’t come with spare parts. Having two of something does not make one an extra. Try walking with one leg, or seeing with one eye. Is it possible? Of course, it’s possible. Is it easy? No. More importantly, it isn’t necessary. If you’re choosing to solve your problem, half a solution is not the answer.

Approximately 36 million people in the United States have a hearing loss.

We hope this information has been helpful. If you or someone you know is struggling to hear or exhibiting signs of a hearing loss, call us today, we can help.